to enjoy that same perspective. we're going to be talking to the mastermind behind planting a camera so you could see inside the mouth of a grizzly bear. >> plus, the star trek movie is a really big deal this weekend. we'll talk to the original captain kirk, but first, even after the tragedy at a clothing factory in bangladesh, some u.s. retailers are still not pushing for aggressive worker safety. christina romans is naming names next on your many. the president probably wishes he was talking about your job, your money, your prosperity, but he's not. i'm christine romans. this is "your money." president obama wants to steer the conversation toward his policy goals, but the smell of scandal is getting stronger in washington. the white house knocked off message by a rash of bad headlines. the irs allegedly targets conservative groups. the government spying on a.p. reporters. new details about the deadly

raid in benghazi. conservatives seize the moment. >> my question is who is going to jail over this scandal? >> we've got to restore the trust in government. >> i have never seen anything quite like this except in the past during the nixon years. >> the watergate scandal forced president nixon to resign, but do these rise to that level? let's review. president clinton had two scandals, white water and monica lewinsky. warren harden had the teapot dome. ulysses s. grant was arrested in office. yes, it was a bad week for the white house politically, maybe the worst of obama's second term, but will it derail his legacy? after all, he promised to help us prosper. >> we believe it must rest on the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. we know america thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work, when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.

>> but this white house is stuck in crisis management, not legacy building, for now. greg is the chief political strategist at potomac. and ron is here with us. gentleman, welcome to the program. greg, it's not very often i get to say teapot dome scandal on television. we're trying to put this in perspective, really put this in perspective. you say these scandals could push democrats away from the president this summer. put in perspective, how does it hurt our economic recovery, or does it matter? >> i think it's going to hurt barack obama's ability to spin a pretty good story with the economy improving, with the budget deficit plunging. i think that would be a slight negative for him. as you mentioned at the beginning, i think one thing that is a little like watergate is that republicans started to flee from richard nixon. i'm going to watch democrats to see if they start to peel away from barack obama. >> ron, what's the move for republicans?

how much political capital do these scandals build for republicans, and how does this affect other reform like immigration that the president is pushing for? >> it's very much of a two-edged sword i think for republicans. on the one hand, there's no question that this confluence of scandals is going to help mobilize their base for 2014. but if you look back, particularly in the clinton years, the affect of scandal is to empower the hard line in each party. obama is going to find it tougher, i think, to find deals to alienation some of the congressional democrats and on the other side, you're going to see the voices get louder inside the gop who say the president is bleeding. we don't want to throw him life lines with agreements. that could be a short-sighted view for the republicans. the net may not be a positive by 2016. >> i want to talk about the obama economy. this is what it looks like now. the labor force participation rate, 63.3%. it comes up just 2% in the past

year. 5% over the past two years. big blah. overall, the economy grew 2.5% in the first three months of the year, but the deficit is dropping. plunged 32% in the first half of the fiscal year. housing is improving. prices are rising in most areas. consumer confidence, we learned late this week, lm at a six-year high. stocks, i don't have to tell you. most of the people in washington have a 401(k), so they're very well aware what is happening in the stock market. here is my question, ron, i want ron to answer this. here you've got republicans who can be focusing on other things and not the things going in the president's direction. >> right, you know, absolutely. it gives them an opportunity to kind of take the political offensive, and as i said, to mobilize their base. but there is an opportunity. there is a desire on the public to see things get done, particularly on the deficit, the debt, economic growth. those kind of issues. to the extent they're seeing us focus solely on this, there is

cost. and politically, you know, your numbers, it's kind of a fascinating subcurrent which is that the grubs at the core of this new obama coalition, minorities and young people, are having the toughest time in this economy. you wonder how long they can levitate above that in the democratic party if things dont r don't get better before 2016. >> debt ceiling fight in the summer of 2011, actually makes me sick to my stomach remembering about it. and it cost america its aaa credit rating. here we go again. treasury is now using, quote, extraordinary measures to help the country pay its bills. how does this pay out? we have seen the movie before. how does it play out this time? >> well, we don't have to fight the fight probably until november. i think the chance of another downgrade is pretty remote because of the spectacular progress on the deficit. here's the interesting angle to me. it's not that obama's agenda is in tatters. it was in tatters a month ago

after he lost the background check in the senate. what may happen is things he doesn't want may get shoved down his throat. keystone pipeline and maybe another sequester. in november to get a debt ceiling he may have to accept sequester for 2014. >> ron and greg, a slowly healing jobs market and a plunging deficit mean there's a lot of other things, scandal things they're talking about in washington. if we weren't talking about those things, i could assure you the democrats would be talking about the other two. >> coming up, forget the president's legacy. olympia snowe is worried about the entire u.s. political system. [ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisors envision planning process,

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common ground." it's a memoir of her career as a moderate republican and an indictment of today's hyperpartisanship in congress. i asked her point blank, what is wrong with these people in washington? >> we're a can-do country. and the failure in washington now is to talk about the politics, the next election, and nothing but the policies advancing this country's interests. over the political interests of the next election or one's political position. >> are we going to see moderates become extinct? >> well, it's -- you know, moving in that direction. i hope not. i hope that there is some way we can avertit. i encourage people to get involved. speak up. just as those who fan the flames of polarization, they can use the social media to organize, to protest, demand that people are held accountable and to do their

jobs in washington and come up with results. >> you talk about the socially conservative wing of your party that has really swayed republicans. >> it's true. and i think that the unfortunate dimension of the republican party today has been one of intolerance, diverse views within the party. i don't know how the party expands if, one, they don't change their positions and their views on issues that will appeal to a broader segment of the population. but if you're not tolerant of individuals who have different views within the party, how can you appeal to those outside of the party? >> there are people who say bipartisanship is a bad thing. >> biggest economy in the world, the largest nation on urld, and we can't manage to pass a budget. on the senate, we're on the fourth year. the senate passed a budget this year, budget resolution, but the

house and congress haven't gotten together, and it's required by law. they're breaking the law. budget resolutions are supposed to pass, become law by april 15th. >> the only leadership we really have is the fed, and he's pumping $85 billion a month into the economy. is he doing the right thing? >> i don't think he has any choice. and there is disagreement about whether they should because they worry about the implications. >> but he doesn't have another choice? >> he doesn't, because there's no fiscal policy, no budget, no management, no debt reduction plan. and he has begged congress. he's argued because he doesn't want to be in this position. to have zero interest rates for this long, and into 2014. and he has said he doesn't feel comfortable drawing down, raising interest rates or pulling out from purchasing these bonds on a monthly basis because of the unemployment rate. he understands the only way it can turn around is for congress

to collaborate and get it done. there's no other way and no other choice. all right, coming up, most u.s. retailers probably hope you'll forget the teenage girl trapped for 17 days in a collapsed factory in bangladesh. >> suddenly, i heard a call to prayer and then sounds. the sounds of voices and i wondered where is the sound coming from. >> will you remember her face the next time you shop for clothes? are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers.

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i want to introduce you to a woman. maybe you have heard her speak already. maybe you have already heard her story, but we're not going to forget it here. last week, recovery workers pulled the 19-year-old woman from the rubble of a collapse said garment factory in bangladesh. she had been buried underneath that debris for 17 days. cracks in the building had previously been detected, but she said no one told her it was unsafe.

>> no, no one told me. everyone was looking to see which parts were cracked, so i went in and i see there is a wall where a little bit is cracked. the manager said, this is just water damage, and you guys can work. >> more than 1100 people were killed when that building, home to five different garment factories, crumbled to the ground, burying those people alive. they died making clothes for brands that are very likely hanging in your closet. americans have short memories and retailers know that. that's why we're going to remember her. because u.s. companies have an opportunity here. they can make garmt producing in bangladesh safer, and they're balking. more than two dozen european clothing countries have agreed to a five-year legally binding agreement that includes inspections and safety up grades. only two american companies have signed on, abercrombie and fitch, and pvh. the rest are saying no thanks. walmart said it's hiring its own

inspectors and will make the results public. companies like walmart don't want to lose control of their supply chain. they don't want to lose control of the inspection process, but i'm here to tell you they already have. walmart just found out that a year ago, a supplier used one of the factories inside the collapsed building to produce jeans. before the devastating collapse, they had no idea production happened there, and this is not the first time walmart has been caught unaware. gap has a different reason for thought signing on. it's worried about its legal exposure. it doesn't want to end up dragged into court and potentially libel. other countries aren't offering much reason at all for not signing on. sears intends to continue participating in discussions on the accord as updates are made and more information is available but is not prepared to sign the current proposal as it is written today, for 18 more words, before ending with this, meanwhile, we'll continue ongoing efforts to work

collaboratively with other brands and retailers to improve working conditions in bangladesh. 71 words in all to basically say it's status quo for bangladesh. we invited all of the companies to talk to us. all declined or didn't respond to our collapse. the national retail federation declined as well. dana is a ceo who has been covering retailers and their business for years. dara is a professor of environmental labor policy. dana, let's look at the numbers. multibillion dollar businesses who have made a ton of money chasing the cheapest labor in a race to the bottom. walmart made $17 billion last year. target made $3 billion. gap, more than a billion. how can a company that made in walmart's case, $17 million last year, that knows everybody about me at the point of purchase, knows exactly what i'm doing, how can they not know where their jeans are being stitched?

>> one of the things that happened with these companies, they're very large companies. they're subcontracting out some of the garments they make, and it could go from an agent to a subcontractor. the agents, there's lots of legal issues and lots of legal stipulations in the contract about worker safety, but even saying that, worker safety can be enhanced by all. >> how can walmart or sears or any of these companies say we will do our own inspections if they don't even know where their stuff is being made? that's what i don't understand. >> what's happening is sometimes now, if something like this happens, they take it back themselves, higher costs, they'll put the inspections in themselves, but they value and it's important to them, the safety of the garments are being produced at. >> people are asking do they value the safety of the workers less than the low-input cost of making the gaurmant. when i buy something, when consumers buy something, i think you assume it's not being made with slave labor.

the european trade commissioner said this is slave labor in bangladesh. do american consumers, dara, do they make the assumption or do they not care? >> no, i think the american consumers do care when they learn, when they know. when these types of tragedies occur and they become front and center and it connects us to the stylist low-quality garments we're buying with the reality of bangladesh, lowest apparel wages in any part of the world, horrendous building conditions, when they see it, they're shocked and they really do care, but what you just pointed out is this is a system that has been set up for the out sourcing and production, and the outsourcing of responsibility. this is not an accident that walmart doesn't know whether these factories are producing their goods. this is part of a system of pushing down prices, speeding up delivery times so the industry can drive what they call fast

fashion. that is stylish products, changing very quickly at reasonable quality, but at low prices in the stores. so this really is an industry problem driven by the brands and the retailers, and this is really a situation where the u.s. brands and retailers are shirking their responsibility. >> can i ask you, because i have been very closely watching, and no one is going on camera for me. i have closely been reading these long rp-department written statements, policy statements on this. a lot of we want to continue the ongoing dialogue. you know, many people, myself included, say that dialogue should have happened before a bunch of people died, right? you should already have an idea of what is happening in your factories, but could it be that gap and walmart and others, maybe they don't like the european deal and there will be some sort of north american deal that will make things safer? >> well, so the north american retailers came together and made an announcement this week which you probably read is a four-page press release rather than a plan

for safety in bangladesh. if one of my undergraduate students had turned that plan in to me, i would have given it an f. it was so vague, noncommitment, and filled with self-congratulatory platitudes. it continues voluntary self monitoring with no binding, no enforcement agreements, and this is what the gap is saying. the code word is we don't want liability. the real thing is they don't want responsibility. they want flex lt, which is what the american apparel and foot ware association said, they want flexibility. they don't want to commit to the real solutions which is a binding, enforceable agreement that would involve them committing to contracts, not to cutting and running, not to voluntary auditing which has failed over the past ten years but for them committed for the next five years to actually commit to improving conditions in bangladesh. >> let me bring dana back in because the issue here is, do they have a responsibility? the responsibility is to their share holders, these retailers,

right? if there's a public outcry that is big enough, do they say, hey, you have to do a better job. you can't let people subcontract and subcontract and subcontract. it's bad press. >> you have seen retailers in the past few years and the past few decades enhance their operations, whether it comes from the systems side, from labor and pay roll costs. >> enhance, you mean make things better safety wise. >> yes, i think they have done that in the u.s. the aging part of the business, giving how many they use these subcontractors and agent, it's going to come to a new level and i think you'll see retailers address the issue. >> do the retailers know when they're signing these contracts that there's not a lot of transparency, that there's so much corruption with the local government. do they close their eyes and hope for the best. >> i think you have seen retailers over the past few years, whether u.s., mexico, cambodia, asia. you name tons of different countries that they diversified into. many of the annual reports and

topics of discussions the ceos talk about is here is how we have diversified our outsourcing, and they can know more about what is being produced in each country. >> bottom line, does the american consumer pull back? >> they don't pull back. i mean, if there's something new they want to wear, they're going to keep buying it. >> thanks so much to both of you. up next, this aging bull keeps running, but how much farther does the market have to go? we'll ask two of the market's money minds next.

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wondering if it's time to sell, but what if you missed the entire rally. can you still get in or are you the sucker? there still may be room to run. the current bull market is the fifth largest since 1928. if you compare it with the other four, it could push higher. in the '40s, it was just a few percentage points higher. look at 1982 to 1987, up 228%. 1948 to 1956, 267%, and 1987 to 2,000, over 200%. that's about 6.5 years. the current rally, just over four years. jim rogers is chairman of rogers holdings and author. jeremy is from the wharton school. nice to see both of you. thank you. i'm so thrilled to have both of

you here for your opinion on what is happening. jim, what are the markets tolding us, the gold, bonds, dollar. are stocks the only place investors to have put their money? >> they're not the only place, but that's where everyone is going. >> why? >> because it's fun, excitinexc. jeremy siegel will tell you it's going to go through the roof. >> do you buy it? >> i'm skeptical. there's staggering amounts of money being produced. i'm naught skeptical it's going to happen. i'm just worried about why it is happening. >> the fed is pumping money, $85 billion a month into the market. >> not just the fed, the japanese federal bank said they would print unlimited amounts of money. this is the first time in world history that every central bank is printing money and debasing the currency. this cannot end well. >> you're predicting danger ahead. and jeremy, you talked about the

market. you have a goal for the end of the year, but 52% of americans say they're invested in a 401(k). mutual fund, stocks, any exposure at all, that's the lowest level recorded. if the market is going to keep going higher, should people get in right now or are they suckers? >> my feeling is this bull market is not over. and jim, i'm not going to say that stock market is going to go through the roof. my projection by the end of the year is 16,000 to 17,000 and higher next year, but relative to historical evaluations, that's not through the roof. nothing like 1999, which was crazy. we're at half the price earnings ratio we were there, and christine, you quoted figures in terms of bull markets. this is still young. and it's still nowhere near the average appreciation. it's fundamentals, earnings and

what else you have to invest in that are the most important determinants. i do not believe that qe is the only reason why people are moving into stocks. i think they're moving into stocks because the opportunities elsewhere are not attractive. >> but jim, are you suggesting that the japanese and the federal reserve and the europeans and the english weren't printing all this money, this would be happening anyway? >> i mean, my feeling is that we would still be in a bull market. yes, i actually do, because of valuations. if we were at the level we were in 1999, i would say yes, it's just the printing of money. this is crazy valuation. but jim, look at the price earnings ratio and tell me they are historically out of line with what we have experienced in the past. you can't. they are not. >> you're right. we're not in a bubble. we're certainly not in any kind of bubble stage. technically, stocks could go a lot higher, but what if they

stop printing money? jeremy, the japanese stock market is up 60% in seven months. that's not normal. >> let me jump in, so what happens when the fed starts to signal strongly that it's going to unwind its historical stimulus in the market? >> so many people are convinced, it's like only the fed, only qe. i have no doubt when they announce they're going to taper it off or stop, stop printing, they're going to be a short-term reaction in the market, which i think is a great buying opportunity because i think fundamentals are what are driving this market going forward. >> let me ask you both about jobs because something in the stock discussion i get a lot from people is it doesn't matter because half of americans aren't invested and companies aren't using their profits to actually create jobs. jim, without a solid middle-class job creation, can this, you know, recovery in stocks continue? >> yes, that's bullish. the fact that's not happening

yet, that would make jeremy's case. that's still to come. if you told me everybody has a job, and companies are spending staggering amounts of money, et cetera, eltset raw, and the market is up higher, then you would have to be worried. what you have said is yet to come. that makes jeremy's case. i hate to hear her helping you, jeremy, but she helped your lot. >> the job component of it, the job angle is missing, right? >> we have 7.5% unemployment. that still means 92.5%, if i did my substraction right, of the people are employed. >> unless they dropped out of the labor market or they're underemployed or temporary jobs are 19% of the jobs. it's not exactly rosy out there. >> i'm naught saying it's rosy out there, i'm not saying we don't have further to go. and i still think we're underutilized, but i think we're getting there, and i think actually through the second half of this year and first half of

next year, we're going to see better than expected gdp growth, 3% to 4%. we haven't seen that in a long time, and that's going to help the unemployment figures and also as you say, once more people are drawn into the economy, i think that will further boost the stock market. >> last question to jim rogers, you invest all over the world. you actually moved to asia. is america still the best place to make your fortune in the world? >> it's a wonderful place to live and a wonderful place to make your fortune. i happen to think there are better places. we're the largest debtor nation in history. in asia, the largest creditor najs are china, hong kong, singapore. the money is in asia if you want the wind at your back, you might want to think about asia. >> the irs, a.p. phone records, benghazi, obama care. that's what's been dominating the president's agenda this week. what's getting left out?

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president obama knocked off message this week. and that message was supposed to be -- >> new jobs and new opportunities for the middle class. american jobs. >> more jobs. >> 12 million net new jobs in four years. that's what president obama promised during the campaign. that works out to 250,000 jobs a month. now, to keep his promise at this point in his second term the economy should have created 750,000 jobs. we're at 635,000. more than half of those were created just in february alone. i want to bring in robert reich.

he was the secretary of labor under president clinton. now he's the professor of public policy and the author of "beyond outrage" what has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy and how to fix it. welcome to the program. >> hi, christine. >> the economy has added 212,000 jobs. the jobs recovery, i think it's fair to say, has been choppy. and this week, first time unemployment claims jumped. it shows layoffs jumping. do you think the president can meet the target of 12 million jobs in four years? >> i think it's going to be very difficult to meet that target. both because the job situation is still very bad, and also because of the headwinds on the economy. coming from a europe that is shrinking, a japan that is basically still a basket case. china's growth is also slowing. a world economy is not exactly

cooperating, and on top of that, you have the sequester in washington that is also a drag on the economy. given all these drags, it's going to be very hard to get that many jobs. >> you know, as part of the fiscal cliff, americans saw their pay roll taxes jump. that works out to about $1,000 less for a typical household making $50,000 a year. a new study finds the rise in taxes is going to find the average household cutting their spending by an average of $720. there's the fiscal cliff and also the payroll tax holiday that went away. you're a longtime proponent of stopping the first $1500 of the taxes. do you think that would be good for job growth? >> yes, if we lose some government by exempting the first $15,000 for social security, you lift the lid on the percentage of or the amount of money subjected to social security taxes. and that would be not only good

for the economy but it also would be a move in the direction of helping the middle class. you know, one of the hidden issues here, christine, is not only do we have a very slow jobs recovery, but most of the jobs being created pay less than the jobs that were lost in the great recession. so the quality of jobs is a problem as well. >> when you talk about the changing those pay roll tax -- the pay roll withholdings it's so interesting because it would mean that people who make more money would pay more. people above $106,000 would pay more, but middle class workers would have less taken out of their paycheck, bottom line. >> that's right. people who earned at the top of the earning scale would pay a little more. but remember, everybody, according to this proposal, everybody's first $15,000 of income would be exempt from social security taxes. even if you're earning $115,000 or $112,000, you're probably going to be paying less overall

in social security taxes. it's only people over $200,000 th that would pay more. >> this is commencement speech season. you know college graduates are enjoying an unemployment rate that's half the national average, but the rate for recent graduates is 13.5%. still so high. agree or disagree. college education today costs more and delivers less than any other time in history? >> i would say that's probably right. but it still is a good deal. that is over the course of a lifetime, college graduates are earning about 70% more than people who do not have a four-year college degree. even though many young people are coming into a very bad jobs market, even though many of them have a lot of debts hanging over their shoulders rng it's still over the long term going to be a good deal for them. >> robert, so nis to see you. thank you very much. >> thanks, christine. >> have a great weekend. >> a final quiz for the class of 2013.

70% of you are graduating with some student debt. is the average amount owed, a, $15,000. b, $25,000. or c, $35,000? the answer right after this. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there.

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[ ethereal music plays ] [ motorcycle revving ] getting you back on a brand-new bike. now, that's progressive. $35,200, that's how much the average graduate from the class of 2013 owes. of course, not everyone graduates with debt, but most do. 70% of this year's graduating class will leave with debt. 54% say it will take them more than nine years to pay off the loans, and 7% say they don't everect pkt to pay those loans back. why? rising costs. college tuition and fees have jumped eed 1,120% since 1958. that's compared with 601% for medical care and 244% for food. so is the high cost of college

worth it? not according to bill bennett. not in all cases. he was secretary of education under president reagan and he's also author of a new book called "is college worth it." we have talked about it for so many years. you say the cost of college will keep rising as student aid continues to increase unchecked. dewe need to address rising tuition and student aid rather than rethinking who should be going to college and what they should be majoring in? >> i think it means thinking on both fronts. some people should go to college. about a third of those who start four-year colleges, it makes a lot of sense for a number of different reasons, but the availability of federal funds has continued to drive up prices. it's possible the prices would go up even if the funds didn't keep increasing because the colleges can get away with it. they can charge and charge and charge and people will keep paying it because they want their kids to get the degree because they believe it's a talisman, it's magic, but it isn't magic for a lot of people. for about a third of the people,

it is. for about two thirds, it isn't. about 45% of people who start four-year colleges don't finish. they don't finish at all. and many of them leave with debt and without a college degree. >> bill, about the quality of that education and the cost and quality. if you look from a numbers stand' point, do you agree that the costs more to get a degree and that degree delivers less than at any time in our lifetimes? >> it all depends on what you're talking about and where. if you go into petroleum engineering at the university of texas, it's going to pay off. if you get into stanford, you should procedure go. if you get into a liberal arts college and major in philosophy like i did, it may not make sense. you should go into it with your eyes open, that's why in the book is "is college worth it," we talk about various situations. but one thing is for sure, colleges have been taking in the money. inflation numbers for tuition

are extraordinary and they've been getting away with it. a lot of kids and their families have been cheated. particularly a lot of poor kids, at the bottom of society economically are now graduating from college in smaller numbers than they did 30 years ago. >> student loan rates are going to jump from 3.4% to 6.8%. under a proposal, new student borrowers would be able to take out a stafford loan at 0.75%. it makes sense if the banks get to borrow super cheaply, why can't students? why do you think that proposal may not be as rosy as it looks on the surface? >> we need to look to all of the ramifications and see who ends up subsidizing those loans. as you know, to date the public has been subsidizing tose loans. who pays those loans back, too? because there's a lot of provisions in there for student loan forgiveness. we propose 25 years ago the

income contingent loan. you graduate from college. if you owe money and you go into a venture fund capitalist, you make a million dollars, you pay it all back. if you go in at the lower edges of journalism, let's say, or philosophy professor, you pay it back a small amount each year. i also think the colleges need to have skin in the game. if they advertise, if they charge these amounts, kids come, they don't graduate or they graduate and don't get jobs, i think colleges need to give some of that money back. >> do you think colleges are adapting to the new reality of the job market? do you think they're still delivering a product the way they did 20 years ago and it is not quite the same? >> some are. there is a big fight right now -- you probably know about these massive open online korsz. big announcement. georgia tech using a company in palo alto -- i'm on their advisory board -- is going to offer a master's agree in computer technology for $6,000 that used to cost $40,000.

here's a way to get costs and price down. use the new technology. georgia tech i think was very smart to do this. >> that's an interesting trend, that will be a big game changer in education i'm sure. bill bennett, philosophy major christine romans, journalism and french. let's just point out that liberal arts are the critical thinking, the innovation and good judgment you need to balance out all those stem people in the world. >> christine, i want to come back. >> you come back. all right. thanks. college grads ren terring a job market that's still struggling and with competition so intense, today's college grads need a battle plan. after this, you may think you're done with this. but the homework has only begun. the good news, the economy is recovering. stock markets are on a tear, and companies are flush with cash.

the bad news is, they're still not hiring robustly and competition is intense among new college grads. one-third of recent grads surveyed said they were make nothing more than $25,000 a year. with tens of thousands of dollars in debt to pay off and a still-sluggish jobs market, was it all worth it? >> the long-term data says that investing in a degree is the right thing to do but you've got to treat it like an investment and treat it seriously. really show interest and passion about the area you want to work in and start networking early. and the last thing is take every opportunity. >> reporter: every opportunity because your dream job may not be attainable at first, and it's going to change with time. as the great dr. seuss once said, quoted again and again at commencement speeches -- >> you have brains in your head, feet in your shoes -- >> you can steer yourself any direction you choose. >> it's up to you to steer yourself, especially if you feel like all the student debt wasn't worth it. >> it doesn't take an advanced

degree to figure out that people that have more skills and more education are doing better and surviving better in this comeback than are people who do not. i mean that screams out of the data. >> reporter: and what the data show is nearly two-thirds of recent college grads say they need more training in order to get that dream job. but fewer than half say they got it in their first job after graduation. meaning, plan your next two or three career moves now and figure how your first job out of college can help with those moves. finally, start planning for retirement now. does your company offer a 401(k) match? take it. start saving now and pay off your debt as soon as possible. call it a battle plan for grads. make your opening shot in the job market work for you. up next, the haves and ha havenots and the bull market run. everyone's retirement dream is different;

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the rich versus the rest, the 1% and the 99%. the stock market seems to be the dividing line between those two groups right now. are you in? or are you out? this cartoon printed in the "washington post" this week illustrates this divide perfectly. there is a man on the ground down on his luck with a sign that says "i've been looking for work for five years."

meanwhile another man dressed in a suit smoking a cigar reading the paper leans over and said, hey, a better strategy would have been to buy stocks." the front page of the paper he's holding says dow with a big up arrow. let's not forget we still have 7.5% unemployment in this country. the underemployment rate is almost double that. it is easy to look back in behind sight and say, hey, you should have jumped in this market in 2009 but stom of you were struggling just to survive, others are struggling right now. the job is the most important thing for you, not stock market rally. facebook's one-year anniversary as a public company this weekend. remember all that hype? investors dying to get in? the little guy was going to get a piece after big company and make their fortune, too? oh, yeah, then the stock plunged and it is still down 30% from its initial offering price. have you every reason to be skept kalg when people tell you the stock market is the only way to get rich in america. it is a reminder that in the stock market there are no guarantees and that we are living in one america with two

economies. thanks for joining the conversation this week on "your money. my handle is @christineromans on twitter. hello, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. here's a look at the top stories this hours in the news line. the midwest is bracing for nasty storms over the next few hours. at least one tornado touched down in kansas yesterday. the severe weather system is on the move with hail, flooding and possibly more twisters all in the forecast next. real cars involved in that terrible train collision in connecticut are being cleared arai way. in a few minutes i'll talk to a doctor who was on that train when it crashed. immediately going to work treating the injured. in long island, new york, the family of a hra